As LIRR strike deadline looms, MTA and union talks stall

A commute-crippling Long Island Rail Road strike is  again potentially weeks away, and neither the MTA nor labor leaders are expressing optimism about reaching a settlement soon.

After a request for intervention by President Donald Trump pushed off a potential strike in September, a new Jan. 16 deadline is looming. If a deal isn't reached by then, five unions representing roughly half the LIRR's labor force could walk off the job beginning at 12:01 a.m. that day — or either side could request the White House appoint a second mediation board, which would establish a final strike deadline in May.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority management and unions haven't met since Nov. 17. Both sides say they’re eager to resume meaningful talks about a new contract and both accuse each other of being unwilling to meet.

"We say, ‘Let’s negotiate. Let’s get together, right away. Come in, start negotiating.’ And they haven’t been willing to meet with us," MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said in a response to a Newsday question at a Manhattan news conference this week. "We are ready to sit down at the table with these unions and negotiate. That’s how you get deals done."

But the unions say it’s the MTA that has been inflexible, even after a White House-appointed mediation board's recommendation of 14% raises over four years and a $3,000 lump-sum payment. The unions say management has shown no indication of budging from its position that workers should take the same deal already accepted by most other MTA labor organizations. That deal calls for 9.5% raises over three years.

"The unions’ position in contrast is very reasonable, an agreement that simply keeps pace with the rising cost of living," Kevin Sexton, vice president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, and a spokesman for the coalition of unions involved in the dispute, said in a statement. "We’re ready to meet at the bargaining table the moment the MTA acknowledges [the mediation board’s recommendation], gets serious about reaching an agreement with a majority of their unionized LIRR workers, and quits playing politics."

The two sides last meeting in November was organized by the National Mediation Board. In a statement issued after the meeting, the unions said they "communicated to the NMB board members present that labor accepted the findings and analysis of the [board] as the basis for further negotiations." But, the unions said, an MTA lawyer "rejected ... outright" the board’s findings, and "attacked" the mediation process and the federal law governing railroad labor negotiations.

Asked about the meeting, Lieber acknowledged the MTA having "concerns about the fairness" of the process, given that one of the White House-selected mediators recommending a settlement, Tom Pontillo, previously worked for the same locomotive engineers’ union involved in the dispute.

Sexton said it is "not at all uncommon" for a mediator to have experience working in railroad labor organizations or in management, and said that Pontillo "voted against the union" in a contract dispute at NJ Transit earlier this year.

It was the unions that made the request to the Trump administration for mediation — a move that delayed a potential strike days before it could have occurred in September. Sexton said the MTA and Gov. Kathy Hochul were looking to "provoke a strike" in September, because they preferred to have the work stoppage occur in 2025 rather than in 2026, when Hochul is up for reelection.

If a second mediation board is appointed, as federal law allows, the final strike deadline of May 16 would be less than six weeks before the gubernatorial primary election.

In response, MTA spokesman Tim Minton said Sexton "seems to have all kinds of time" to talk to the media. "Here’s another idea: How about he sits down to negotiate with the MTA?"

Sean Butler, a spokesman for Hochul, said in a statement that, with the MTA offering to meet to negotiate, "it's now up to [the unions] to come to the table in good faith and ensure that nearly 300,000 LIRR riders can depend on quality, reliable service."

A strike next month would come weeks after the MTA's latest fare hike, taking effect Jan. 4. It will raise the costs of LIRR tickets by about 4.4% on average, and also drastically shorten the amount of time when tickets are valid.

The dispute also comes against the backdrop of the LIRR's latest employee time abuse scandal. Three dozen LIRR workers are accused by a MTA inspector general report of cloning employee time clock cards, then using the cards to cover up co-workers' absences while they hit the gym, ate meals at home and worked second jobs while on the clock.

Although the implicated workers are not represented by any of the unions involved in the dispute, former LIRR union official Christopher Natale acknowledged a fraud accusation against any worker "makes us look bad," but should have no bearing on negotiations.

"People's perceptions are their realities, and there's nothing you can do to control that. But, at the end of the day ... they can go after those employees. It shouldn't affect anything," said Natale, retired general chairman of the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen. "These are individual ... acts. They have nothing to do with the membership as a whole."

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.